By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos Piraeus saved the best for last at home against Olimpia Milano. After trailing for the vast majority of the game, the Reds overpowered their opponents in the final period to beat them 67 – 58 and sweep them 2-0 in the EuroLeague regular season.
This was the third straight win for Olympiacos that jumped to 15-9 to take a spot at the Top 4 in the standings. Milano, now 17-8, remains third.
Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov led Olympiacos with 16 points apiece while taking over in a decisive 18 – 3 run for his team in the last stretch of the game. Sloukas dropped eight unanswered points including two straight 3-pointers for the 56 – 50 lead with five minutes to play and then Moustapha Fall scored back-to-back baskets to make it 60 – 53.
Milano was unable to respond while Tyler Dorsey added two free throws and Vezenkov scored four points in a row to put the hosts up 66 – 53 with 1:44 remaining. There was no turning back from that margin.
Only Devon Hall (15 points) scored in double figures for Milano that led 15 – 25 in the second period before Olympiacos balanced the score at 27 in the first play after the break (25 – 27). Hall pushed back the hosts with two straight 3-pointers and Milano went up 31 – 39. Ettore Messina’s players saw their opponents closing that distance but retained an advantage until Shaq McKissic gave Olympiacos the first lead for the game when he scored for the 48 – 47. That was the beginning of Olympiacos’ dominance in the last lap of the match.
Shaq McKissic contributed 14 points and some stout defensive effort for Olympiacos while Fall added 12 points plus seven rebounds. Nicolo Melli had nine points and 11 rebounds for Milano.
Milano was the superior team in the first 30 minutes but the team had no answers down the stretch for Sloukas’ action. “It wasn’t a good game but it was highlighted by Kostas Sloukas,” Milano coach Ettore Messina said. “By far the best player on the court, he decided the game with his play.”